Walk like an Egyptian, not likely! More like a Camel after a few beers! This is what the heat can do to you in midsummer in Egypt. Fortunately I was here in the late winter and early spring. A great time to visit with warm days and not so chilly nights
The Sinai is a huge expanse of land with most of the towns scattered around its craggy coastline. My story today is about Dahab, a gem of a village on the east coast and a million miles from the bustle of Cairo.
Dahab has grown over the years from a small bedouin outpost to a mature mix of hippies, backpackers, long term expats and day trippers from Sharm and the like.
With the completion of the boardwalk, a very good one I might add, it lends itself to idle stolling and lazy cafe life watching the never ending show.
There are restaurants a plenty for all budgets, mostly very clean and extremely cheap by western standards. You need to bring you own beer to most of them however, there is no charge for this and plenty of outlets to get cold Stella beer for the evening.
laying your head on a pillow is simplicity with a number of cheap camps or small chalets near the beach and, depending upon the time of year, very affordable and inexpensive.
But the thing that brings most people to Dahab must be the diving and snorkelling at the local reefs. There are many fantastic dive sites in the area, some for more advanced divers but plenty for beginners. The profusion of dive centres is amazing but understandable given the year round diving conditions here in Dahab.
Two local sites that stand out are the world famous Blue Hole and the accessible Lighthouse reef. Many more are just a short jeep ride away and have so many fish it will take your breath away.
Getting to Dahab is easy, a flight in to Sharm el Sheikh airport and a taxi ride of about 45 mins to 1 hour depending upon the Racing Skills of your driver! A taxi should cost around EYP 150-200 depending upon your bargaining skills at the airport. It may be wiser to get your hotel or camp in Dahab to send one for you, a lot less stressful after a long flight.
All in all Dahab is a great place to dive and relax in the Red Sea. The local people are friendly and not pushy at all, a welcome relief for Nile Valley tourists!
Most traders will offer you to come to their store and eat or buy, but they know its such a small place you will be back so they really don't hustle much at all.
I have several recommendations, for Scuba Diving try Red Sea Relax, they have a good centrally located operation. www.red-sea-relax.com If you send them an e mail info@red-sea-relax.com and mention my site they will offer you a special rate! For a great feed you can try Friends Restaurant by the bridge, for a beer and the footy it has to be the Furry Cup at the Blue Beach Resort.
A handy place to stay and one with Dorm options as well as hotel style rooms is the Hotel Neptune, attached to the Red Sea Relax dive centre you can make reservations Book a room in Dahab. I have found this place to be very central, very clean and with a great staff that go out of their way to help you get the most out of your trip.
No matter where you stay should you visit Dahab or with whom you dive I hope you have as great a time as I have had and pass on this wonderful location to other travellers
Have a great one,
Peter J Smith April 2009
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